Human Wholeness: To us, human wholeness is physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health. We believe in the inherent value of nature to advance all four.

Our Commitments

We commit to being accessible, responsive and respectful of our applicants' time.

Commitment in action: We respond to email inquiries and phone calls in a timely manner and schedule meetings with well aligned organizations seeking information and guidance.

We commit to a culture of learning for our board, staff, and partners.

Commitment in action: We stay abreast of current research in our focus areas and attend conferences to deepen our understanding of current challenges and opportunities. We seek guidance from nonprofit leaders and foundation colleagues. We fund projects that increase our understanding and clarify, validate, or challenge our theory of change. We bring thought leaders and useful research to Maine, with a goal of cultivating an environment of continuous learning, best practice application, and informed approaches to our work.

We commit to reasoned risk taking and creative problem solving.

Commitment in action: We give equal consideration to well established nonprofits with a proven track record as we do young and or small grassroots organizations. We appreciate “out of the box” thinking and will fund thoughtful pilot projects, new initiatives and best practice trials.

We commit to seeking and sharing feedback to encourage open communication and foster collaboration.

Commitment in action: We request honest feedback on our approach and theory of change to ensure our priorities are relevant and meaningful to the nonprofit community and that we are supporting not hindering our mutual aspirations. We genuinely want to know what we could be doing better and feedback is incorporated into our ever-evolving process. When asked, we will be honest and transparent about our process and decision-making. If we have concerns about an applicant's approach, leadership, or capacity, we challenge ourselves to offer honest and supportive feedback.

We commit to the recognition that each applicant knows its needs, constituents and work better than we do.

Commitment in action: We defer to our nonprofit partners to establish priorities while providing guidance when desired. Then, we trust each applicant to apply for funding in the area of their greatest need. We do not prioritize a specific type of project or program and we give equal consideration for general operating support, capacity building, technical support, collaboration, or other investments that strengthen the leadership, capacity, or competency of an organization.

Our History

The foundation was formed in 2004 by Roxanne Quimby – an entrepreneur, environmentalist, and philanthropist with the vision to advance wilderness values and to increase access to the arts throughout Maine. In 2005, we began accepting proposals and awarding grants to Maine-based nonprofits focused on the arts and the environment. In 2014, a decade after the foundation was created, we added Healthy Living as an additional funding priority, and in early 2016 we entered a planning period with the goal of refining our mission and grant making strategy. The foundation is now focused exclusively on growing human wholeness.

The Board of Directors is composed of Quimby family members spanning two generations. We recently added an Advisory Board with extended family and community members.

It is a great privilege for our family to be engaged in this work and to learn from visionary leaders across the state of Maine. We are inspired and encouraged by organizations that are working tirelessly to protect the health of the natural environment and its inhabitants. Our family considers the work of the foundation as one of our greatest opportunities and responsibilities. We look forward to working with visionary organizations for years to come!

Staff

Hannah Quimby

Zak Klein

Board of Directors

Roxanne Quimby

Rachelle Quimby

Rebecca Rowe

Morgan Quimby

Lucas St. Clair

Megan Quimby

Advisors

Yemaya St. Clair

Liliane Willens

Looking for the Roxanne Quimby (RQ) Foundation?

For twelve years, the Quimby Family Foundation made grants to art organizations. In late 2016, a separate foundation was created, The Roxanne Quimby Foundation, which focuses on the arts in Maine. The Quimby Family Foundation no longer funds arts nonprofits. For more information on the RQ Foundation, please write: roxannequimbyfoundation@gmail.com